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Oh boy. A little nervous I got in over my head here...
We have Patches, the 3-4 yo we adopted in December, since our other cat died, we were concerned he needed a playmate. He's ultra friendly & nice & playful & he's alone 11ish hours a day! So we went to the shelter last night to find him a buddy.
We ended up picking out 2 buddies! The 1 I had seen on the shelter site's page earlier & felt already committed to him... he looks JUST like Patches too, though a bit shy. He was a stray. We took him home last night.
The other is not here yet as he has to be neutered. My husband got attached to him at the shelter so we took him too. Both cats are about a year old.
We've got the one guy in a seperate room as he adjusts to a new place... I guess the thing making me nervous that I wasn't considering last night is how Patches is going to adjust! He threw up twice last night & hissed at the door once. He's never hissed! How do I adjust these two... plus another one?!???!!!!! I've never had 3 cats.... Do I put the 2 new guys together? Or do all 3 stay seperate?
My husband also said maybe we shouldn't even take the 3rd... but I feel like that's awful... and I'm sure once we see him later we'll feel better. But how do we make 3 cats work together????
I used to work at a private non-profit cat shelter. We had large community areas for the different cats; altered, female unaltered, male unaltered, and kittens.
We would take in a cat, determine the area it would go to and place the cat with the rest. Most cats just mingled in just fine. On a rare occasion a cat would be upset to a degree. They would find a corner or some place and 'sulk'. It would not be long before the cat was adjusted.
What it all this getting to? That there is no need to keep the cats isolated. If one does not like what is happening, they will find a place to retreat to and eventually come out of thier 'hole'.
Isolating them only prolongs the getting used to each other process.
Thanks for the advice. I'll have to check out Jackson's site too. Right now new guy is seperated, but if I let Patches near him there's a hissing war. Getting a little nervous about adding a 3rd guy to the mix.
I'm hoping if we still take #3 the 2 new guys can be together since neither one really has territory to claim. Unless this new guy has already claimed his isolation room as his territory :X
You're so right... I need way more patience. My husband is really nervous now about bringing home #3 and making me doubt if we should. I think in my desire to show it'll be just fine I'm rushing with #2 and making things potentially worse!
Both new guys were neutered (well #2 is neutered already and #3 is being neutered now which is why we don't have him yet). And the shelter also gave them shots, flea treatment & wormer... but to be safe I still shouldn't be mixing them yet anyway.
I used to work at a private non-profit cat shelter. We had large community areas for the different cats; altered, female unaltered, male unaltered, and kittens.
We would take in a cat, determine the area it would go to and place the cat with the rest. Most cats just mingled in just fine. On a rare occasion a cat would be upset to a degree. They would find a corner or some place and 'sulk'. It would not be long before the cat was adjusted.
What it all this getting to? That there is no need to keep the cats isolated. If one does not like what is happening, they will find a place to retreat to and eventually come out of thier 'hole'.
Isolating them only prolongs the getting used to each other process.
^ What Owl said. It's best to let then see each other and have the opportunity to interact with each other. Only giving them hints of each others existences is more likely to cause mystery & fear of the unknown.
Pet one then the other passing around their scents so they get used to each others scents if they're displaying fear. Do this also to communicate to each of them that they aren't threats to each other or you.
Let them mingle when they behave, and stop them from aggressive behavior if they display any toward each other.
Try not to play favorites to try to avoid creating jealous behavior.
My neighbor's cats started off hating each other and ended up best friends. Don't give up on #3. He's the on you fell in love with based on personality. #2 was just a cat in a picture. It will all work out.
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